Domaine Collotte Marsannay Les Boivins 2021

It was at the 2006 Grand Jours de Bourgogne that I was looking for excellent Burgundies at equally excellent value. Marsannay came to mind as a good candidate, but aside from a couple of well-known producers, I was disappointed in the quality of many. That is until I came upon Philippe Collotte. A tall, quiet man, but with a lot of passion to make superb wines just waiting to be unleashed. Producing lower yields, more selection before and at harvest, de-stemmed fruit, and, for us, he bottles everything unfiltered. His Bourgogne parcel was planted in 1947 and there are 5 parcels of 50+ year old vines in his super-value Marsannay VV. Indeed all of the Marsannay single vineyard cuvées are old vines. Tillage is all done by plowing, no chemical weed-killers ever used, and the philosophy is that a lot of work in the vines promotes healthy grapes for excellent wine. Collotte's yields are well below the appellation's allowances. All fermentations are only done with indigenous yeasts.